A longitudinal study of 3,756 U.S. medical students provides evidence that racism in medical schools influenced their decisions on whether to practice in minority or underserved communities.

"Structural racism is deeply embedded in all areas of society, and medical education is no exception," according to the study in the August issue of Academic Medicine.

"This study provides evidence that racism manifested at multiple levels in medical schools was associated with graduating students' decisions to provide care in high-need communities," the article concludes. "Strategies to identify and eliminate structural racism, and its manifestations in medical school are needed."

Mayo Clinic and Boston Scientific Corp. have launched a new venture to accelerate the development of medical technology and new minimally invasive treatments for many health conditions that impede quality and longevity of life.

The accelerator, known as Motion Medical, will have its research facilities in One Discovery Square, the bioscience center in the Discovery Square research district. Both parties have committed millions of dollars over three years to develop and bring new solutions to the market to address unmet medical needs.

"Mayo Clinic is committed to accelerating the pace of discoveries to bring new technologies and treatments to patients faster," said Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. "This collaboration and others like it will continue to strengthen Rochester and Minnesota as a biomedical innovation and economic powerhouse."

Baseball pitchers often are asked to take some heat off the ball, and lower the stress on their elbow and arm muscle tissue, after an injury. But pitchers may be misjudging how much stress and velocity they're holding back.

A study by Mayo Clinic orthopedic researchers has found that for every 25% decrease in a pitcher's self-reported effort, elbow torque decreased only 7% and the ball's velocity dropped only 11%. The athlete's perceived reduction in effort was markedly greater than the actual reduction, according to the study.

This has significant implications for physical therapists, trainers, coaches and athletes as they monitor elbow stress as part of the recovery process, says Christopher Camp, M.D., a Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon.

Mayo Clinic researchers have found an association between increased symptoms of burnout and heightened racial bias in medical residents. The study appears in JAMA Network Open.

"When physicians aren't operating in an optimal mental and emotional state, they may find it harder to push back against their own biases," says Liselotte Dyrbye, M.D., who led the study. "If burnout contributes to disparities in care, perhaps fighting burnout can help narrow that gap."

A phase I clinical trial is the first research monitored by the Food and Drug Administration that demonstrates the potential of regenerative therapy for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) through collecting, processing and injecting an infant's own stem cells directly into the heart at the time of surgery. A paper detailing the clinical trial was published in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

One of the most commonly performed surgeries to treat stress urinary incontinence in women may have better long-term results than another common surgical technique, according to a study led by Mayo Clinic researchers.

The retrospective study of more than 1,800 cases at Mayo Clinic from 2002 to 2012 found that the need for additional surgery was twice as high after a transobturator sling surgery compared with a retropubic sling procedure. Reoperation rates within eight years after surgery were 11.2% for patients in the transobturator group compared with 5.2% in the retropubic group, according to the study, which was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology in August.

Called "testicular cancer-associated paraneoplasticencephalitis," the disease causes severe neurological symptoms in men. They progressively lose control of their limbs, eye movements, and, in some cases, speech. The disease begins with a testicular tumor, which appears to cause the immune system to attack the brain. Affected men often find themselves misdiagnosed or undiagnosed and appropriate treatment is delayed.

At Mayo Clinic, research is integral to everything we do. From the laboratory bench to each patient's bedside, from training our own care providers to improving health for our global community, we are continuously striving to transform the practice of medicine, one piece of evidence at a time. Read about the Mayo Model of Research.